Debates on the future of Venice are an inherent part of its history. While the main threat originates from the water, nourishing the myth of its decline since centuries, today also tourists flood the city and pose a threat to everyday life. While tourism has long been a lucrative business for investors as well as for residents, the ambivalences associated with the industry became the subject of discussion. Since the mid-2000s, a heterogeneous group of activists and citizens' associations has been expressing its resentments about the political handling of social, cultural and ecological developments of the tourist destination Venice. One of the main protagonists in these protests is the "Comitato NOGrandiNavi"/committee no big ships, which turned the cruise ship into the symbol of the touristic sell-out with its numerous effects on the city’s infrastructures and everyday life. The ship became an artefact in which the fears and angers of activists and residents alike materialize, and functions as a collective symbol in the debate about local effects of a global economy. During the pandemic in June 2020, the demonstration with the slogan "VeneziaFuTuristica" (meaning „was touristic" as well as "futuristic") pointed out the subordination of politics to industrial interests. Creating a human chain embracing the city, protesters demanded a change of direction, considering resident’s needs. In my talk, I want to draw on examples of the agency of citizens, who narrate their city beyond clichés and contrast the imaginary of the tourist destination Venice with alternative visions of its future.